#but apparently they used to teach german

[dreamsy990]

random thing i noticed in my spanish class:

my spanish class is full of people who like. dont care about spanish in general and just took it because they knew a little already or their parents wanted them to. or they hate the teacher. or they just dont like the way we're learning it.

and like. you'd expect people to be playing games. but theyre just DOING OTHER LANGUAGES ON DUOLINGO!!!!!!!!!!!! THE GIRL NEXT TO ME IS DOING FRENCH!!!!!!!!!! SOME GUY IN THE FRONT IS DOING JAPANESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ONE OF MY FRIENDS IS DOING YIDDISH AND HEBREW AND ANOTHER IS DOING RUSSIAN!!!!!!!!! I'M DOING GERMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just think thats pretty interesting. not sure what its saying but its probably saying something

[schadenfreudich]

Please someone stop me from getting a letter opener in the shape of a fish. Or encourage me. Both will probably come to the same conclusion.

[lovebugcody]

little kids are so brave against barking dogs that could 100% take them down when there's a fence between them

[dark-frosted-heart]

Roger Barel Main Route - Chapter 6

As usual, can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on this. I’m doing this for archiving purposes and you can probably find a better translation out there.

Kate and co.’s lively voices could be heard throughout Crown’s castle’s garden.

There, two figures slink about unnoticed.

Nica: Oh, sounds like they’re having fun. Crown’s closer than I thought. They’re like a “family”.

Ring: …

Nica: What’s wrong, Ring? Do you want to be their friend?

Ring: Ah, well…

Nica: You can’t. You know we’re not here to make friends.

Ring: I know that. I’ll only follow what you and Dari tell me to do.

Nica: I don’t want to control you like a puppet, Ring. But if that’s what you want, then I will.

Eyes peek through a blue-grey gap before landing on Roger.

Nica: Roger Barel. Apparently he’s conducting research on Cursed Ones.

Ring: Research on Cursed Ones? That guy…what does he want to do?

Nica: Who knows. Maybe it’s research that’ll interfere with our ambitions. The kind that will shake the meaning of our existence.

Ring: …Should we eliminate him? No one will notice if I take care of it.

Nica: What are you talking about, Ring? We’re here as goodwill ambassadors. We have to stay white and clean for now. Besides, that guy can be both poison and medicine for Vogel, so let’s let him go for now.

Ring: But— 

Suddenly, his lips curled into a ferocious smile.

Nica: The nail that sticks out gets the hammer* and beautiful flowers get plucked. Let’s just hope no one else notices him and makes him disappear.

--

—Meanwhile.

Within the palace, “Her Majesty the Queen’s Privy Council” is full of frustration.

Privy Council Lord: A few days ago, “Vogel”, an organization under German rule, arrived as goodwill ambassadors. Why don’t the chief of Vogel and his subordinates show any interest in us? Instead, they’re only interested in “Crown”...

One member spat out words full of hatred, and the others joined in on cursing Crown.

Privy Council Lord: With strange powers called curses, they do whatever they want under Her Majesty the Queen. This stain on our country must be erased!

Privy Council member: Her Majesty must be out of her mind, keeping these cursed monsters as pets.

Privy Council Lord: As the Privy Council, we must protect Her Majesty before Crown’s existence becomes known to the public.

Privy Council member: Crown must be dissolved then.

This was what “Her Majesty the Queen’s Privy Council” wanted.

Privy Council member: …But to object to an organization directly under Her Majesty’s control, you must know a weakness.  

Privy Council Lord: Let’s look for a weakness immediately. The best kind to take Crown down.

Little did they know that darkness was about to creep back into “Crown”...

--

Kate: *sigh*...I’m finally done.

Finally free from my self-defense class, I trudged up the stairs with wounds all over.

(I need to work my legs out more…)

Exhausted, I rubbed my weary legs that wouldn’t even let me climb up the stairs.

Concealed under my skirt was a garter belt holding a gun wrapped around a leg.

The gun was a gift from Roger.

~~ Flashback ~~

Roger: Kate, I got something for you. The best from Victor’s armory.

Kate: A…gun?

Roger: Give it here. I’ll teach you how to shoot.

When I handed the gun back to Roger, he immediately fired at a distant target.

(Amazing…)

Roger: The height you hold the barrel depends on the opponent’s feet. In close range, point it down. Long range, horizontal. If you’re in a room, on a train, or some place with obstacles, you can point it up. But keeping it steady takes practice. If the muzzle’s shaking, you have a higher chance of hitting a comrade so the basic rule is to aim down.

Roger explains while demonstrating with the gun.

Roger: That’s about it. Now we just have to practice.

Kate: I’ll give it a shot…

The gun was placed back into my hand and I held it up like I was instructed.

Roger: Grip it like this. Yeah, good. Keep your finger on the trigger…no, don’t squeeze it. Loosen up.

Kate: Okay.

Roger: Relax. Just pull it back.

Roger’s hand slowly moves away from the gun and I pull the trigger.

—There was a dry sound and a bullet grazed the target.

Roger: A little more to the left. Fire them all.

Kate: …

I repositioned my arm and fired in rapid succession.

Roger: Out of 6 rounds, 1 was a hit. 2 grazed the target. Not bad for a first time. I’ll add this to your training so you better start doing push-ups every day. Also— Kate, use this as a last resort. Got it?

~~ Flashback end ~~

(At the time, Roger looked a little scared…no, he looked serious)

My breath shuddered at the memory and I heard the sound of a piano coming from somewhere…

(It sounds beautiful. Who’s…?)

I followed the sound and opened the door.

William: …

There sat William playing the piano.

He glanced at me, raised his fingers high and then continued playing dramatically.

The song eventually comes to an end with a decrescendo and as the final note fades, I give a generous round of applause.

Kate: So it was William playing the piano so beautifully.

William: Thank you for the praise, Kate.

In response to my applause, William gracefully placed his hand on his chest and then suddenly lowered his gaze.

William: Ah…He gave you a gun. Robin with a gun is quite the image.

Kate: H-how did you know? It’s concealed under my skirt.

William: I could tell from the way you walked. When going undercover, be careful not to let others notice.

Kate: The way I walked…I hadn’t considered that.

William: However, it looks like you’re growing well. The “robin growth map” was it?

(Ugh…it’s embarrassing hearing it said to you)

William’s smiling, blood-red eyes held a subdued power that seemed to see through everything.

(William’s a curious person)

(It’s like he knows everything, but I’m not uncomfortable)

William: Kate, do you know why Roger uses a hunting rifle?

Kate: No…Now that I think about it, Roger’s the only one that uses one.

(Everyone else uses either swords or pistols…)

Roger’s hunting rifle stood out and as an amateur, I thought it looked difficult to use.

Kate: I was under the impression that hunting rifles were used by people with good eyesight. So initially I wondered why.

William: One reason is that he used to go hunting with his father, so he’s familiar with it. The other is because of his “abnormal hearing”.

My eyes widened at the unexpected answer.

Kate: Ah, Roger can tell where a target is by listening out for them!

William: That’s right. Rather than risk injuries at close range, he can shoot from a distance. It’s very like Roger to value efficiency. However, those are the reasons he gives. I’m sure there are others.

Kate: Other reasons…?

William: Did you know, Robin.

William spoke softly.

It was like he was telling a fairy tale.

William: In war, 80% of those given guns wouldn’t “dare” to shoot the enemy.

Kate: …I didn’t know that.

The percentage is a lot higher than I expected.

Kate: Even when faced with the enemy, it might be too much pressure to shoot another person…

William: What if it’s a hunting rifle? A hunting rifle’s original purpose is to hunt beasts, not people. It would be an undeniable evil for a former doctor to kill someone, even if it’s to condemn them.

At that moment, I remembered—Roger’s serious expression when he was teaching me how to use a gun.

William: I heard from Victor that when Roger joined Crown, he chose the hunting rifle.

Kate: He chose the hunting rifle on purpose…?

William’s smile was an affirmation.

Roger willingly chose the hunting rifle to kill people and condemn them of their evil, while also having the skills to save lives.

Roger had more knowledge about medicine than anyone else, yet called himself a former doctor and lived in darkness.

(...The more I learn about Roger, the more questions I have)

Why did Roger decide to live on with Crown?

It wasn’t just out of curiosity—that is obvious…

(Would I be able to ask him why?)

(And William…)

Kate: Um, why did you give me this information about Roger? 

William: Hm?

Kate: You don’t seem like the kind of person that says things without a reason.

William: I see…

William frowned in thought.

William: Perhaps it’s because humans are creatures who meet people and gain wisdom at the right time.

Like the scriptures in the Bible, his words weren’t immediately understood.

But it felt like I received some sort of “guidance”. 

Kate: I don’t really understand, but..thank you.

William: You’re welcome.

Kate: Ah, that’s right. William!

(There was something I wanted to ask him)

Kate: I was told that the palace library has books on medicine.

William: Books on medicine?

Kate: Um…Since I’m going to be around Roger, I thought it’d be good to gain some knowledge.

William: Wouldn’t it be easier to ask Roger?

Kate: I can’t.

William: Why?

I want to make him happy with my growth

I want to beat him

It’s a secret surprise +4 +4

Kate: I want to keep it a secret and surprise Roger later.

William: So it’s a special surprise.

William chuckled when he heard about my plan.

William: In that case, I’ll show you the way. Of course, I’ll keep it a secret from Roger.

--

—That night, Roger and I were summoned to Victor’s office at the palace.

Victor: Her Majesty has entrusted Roger and his exclusive Fairytale Keeper with a mission.

(Our next mission…)

Since Roger started teaching me a lot of things, I’ve felt myself grow every day.

Realizing that it was time to put my abilities to the test, I straightened up.

Victor: There's a village out in the countryside. It may be small, but it’s a special place where the people live by their own rules.

Roger: Hmm, is that what they call village customs? What’s wrong with it?

Victor: The other day, skeletons were found in the mountain by the village. There were a lot of them.

I came to the realization that the previous mission to infiltrate the “death party” was a lot simpler than the usual missions.

I quietly swallowed down the fear rising from my chest and mentally organized the mission.

Kate: But burials are normal in this country, and if it’s the village’s custom, then— 

Victor: I had thought so too. So I did some research. Police sent to investigate the village never returned.

(Even the police…that can only mean something’s happened in the village)

Victor: And I found something else. There is a village chief who they call the spirit god. Supposedly this man can ward off illness.

(Spirit god…? The heck…)

Roger and Kate: That’s really suspicious!

Grimacing, we both said it at the same time.

Roger: I see. If illnesses are involved, then I’m the right guy. It’s possible this man’s a new Cursed One…

Kate: New Cursed One?

Roger: It’s nothing.

(What are you talking about?)

While I tilted my head in confusion, Roger spoke enthusiastically.

Roger: Alright. Kate and I will go undercover at the village. And we’ll expose the evil spread in the sandbox. Right, Kate?

(This time I’ll help out with the mission and not be a burden as Fairytale Keeper!)

Kate: Right, leave it to us.

Victor: Thank you. Liam, with his power to disappear, will sneak into the village first and gather intelligence. Once you’re in the village, make contact with him without getting noticed.

Victor turned toward us— 

Victor: Roger, Kate. Don’t get hurt. Now, let’s pledge allegiance to evil.

He sent us off with a few words that were very “Crown-like”.

-

*Idiom meaning those that stand out are forced to conform

[awxum]

A collection of the best Severus fanfictions

I feel like there are quite a few fanfictions that don't have enough recognition in the fandom, so here they are- my personal favorite fanfictions that I have read throughout the years.

I mostly read angst/hurt-comfort fics, all of them has Snape as main character.

Some of them aren't completed, but still- I think they are worth reading. I will mark them "incomplete" or "ongoing"

Your Turn... by tr00per

Remus Lupin/Severus Snape

Words: 38,494 - incomplete

"The war is over and life is starting to settle back into some form of normality but for Severus Snape and Remus Lupin, so much has changed and so much has been left damaged, will they ever find peace?

When both return to teach at Hogwarts, a bit of meddling from Minerva McGonagall and a helping hand from Hermione leads to a tentative friendship that they both clearly need..."

Waves (will help us hide) by Hamlette

Lucius Malfoy/Severus Snape

Words: 86,526

"The year is 1981. On the night of the Dark Lord’s disappearance in Godric’s Hollow, His second-in-command comes to inform his friend and fellow Death Eater about what happened. But Severus is not dismayed – he barely seems to register what he’s told… Or the story of an ‘old friendship’ between two wizards, which would only be called such by historians."

The Black Hawk by Hamlette

Remus Lupin/Severus Snape

Words: 224,826

"Remus Lupin didn’t have the slightest idea how he had survived the Battle of Hogwarts. All he knew, was that he woke up safe and sound underneath a black duvet and apparently – cared for. What he was most shocked to find out, however, was that the battle did not take the victorious turn he had hoped it to and that he was saved by the most unexpected person to do so."

Smoke by Fayet

Remus Lupin/Severus Snape

Words: 25,498

"Remus had a firm idea what Snape meant when he talked of business. Death Eater contacts, probably. Well, nobody had ever seen their spy in action, and Remus would be the last one to turn down a good show."

In which Remus finds himself in intense pain and follows Severus on a journey into a dark place to find a cure. Instead he finds pictures in the smoke and more than Severus has ever planned to show."

This is part of a series- Those Who Favour Fire- and I recommend reading the entire series. Not all parts are translated into English, so if you are fluent in German, you can read it on ff.net.

Smoke (German version is called "Opium")

Fire (German version is called "Earl Grey") Words: 189,554

Honig (which is only available in German on ff.net)  Words: 122,406

The last part is unfortunately incomplete, but I think it ends in such a moment that it can easily be considered an ending (but definitely not the one I was hoping for). I recommend reading all of the work of Fayet.

With Soul of Light and Dark by CrimsonMyriad

Snape-centric

Words: 104,491- incomplete (but I still have hope!)

"As the Order knows full-well, only the pure of heart can cast a Patronus. When Snape saves Harry from the dementors and reveals his doe Patronus, the Order have reason to trust their spy. Snape knows that he could aid the war effort with his logic and ingenuity, but will the Order trust him enough to accept it?"

And Thou Shalt Be First by saiyanwizard

Snape-centric, Severus Snape & Albus Dumbledore & Minerva McGonagall

Words: 35,320 - incomplete (but last update was in Dec. 2023)

"The war for the wizarding world has ended, but one wizard has slunk back into the shadows, still broken and in pain. He who was considered last in everything must now be put first, not only for his sake, but also for the sake of those who still care."

Under The Water by Selly_Blackbird

Harry Potter/Severus Snape

Words: 21,890

"The lake was dark, cold, quiet, and it made him calm down, The castle was bright, noisy, crowded, and it made him panic, The panics took away his strength, made him weak and almost choked him, And the middle of this chaos there was He, and his warm and soft body."

Odysseus's Last Days by Amand_r

Harry Potter/Severus Snape

Words: 17,406

"He certainly hadn't predicted that the happy ending he'd dug out of the dirt, the blackness of his own self, the one he'd compromised so much for, would have dissipated with something as harmless as a plunge from a low bridge. Because it's not the fall that would have killed him. It would have been the sudden stop, or the rushing water, or a sharp stone to the skull, things that any wizard worth his salt could have got out of, if he'd wanted to."

Nocturne by Tira Nog

Harry Potter/Severus Snape

Words: 93,699 (it is complete!)

"Auror Harry Potter makes a life altering discovery during an interview with a prisoner."

Darkness Visible by plutoplex 

Snape-centric

Words: 181,884

"AU after GoF. Trelawney makes a new prophecy about a mysterious Half-Blood Prince, and Dumbledore struggles to find out who it's about. Already walking a tightrope between two masters, Severus Snape feigns ignorance while making his own plans."

It is unavailable on ff.net, but you can download it here. (I'm not sure if author is okay with it, but it would be such a shame to ignore this fanfiction while making my personal best list)

Making Do by ravenkira

Harry Potter/Severus Snape

Words: 56,802

"After the war, Severus Snape tries to find another way to deal with his abominable life."

It has second part, but it's not translated into English and it's ongoing. So if you can read Russian it's available here.

Self-Preservation by coffeeonthepatio

Harry Potter & Severus Snape

Words: 35,128 - ongoing, it's a repost and the last update was in 2022

"Mrs Figg has enough. 7-year-old Harry Potter cannot stay with the Dursleys any more. Severus Snape thinks everyone is better suited to raise the future Saviour of the Wizarding World. Harry dreams of being taken away by a tall man who scares even Dudley. REPOST"

The author took down the old version of this fanfiction and from what I understand she is not okay with sharing the old version.

Nothing To Lose by SINclair54

Snape-centric, Harry Potter & Severus Snape

Words: 14,766 - incomplete (edit: new chapter! 05.09.24)

"Severus Snape has decided he has nothing left to live for. He is only going on so the war can be finished and then he can die in peace. His spying for the light is continued but not willingly."

Grease & Lightning by Mothboss

Harry Potter & Severus Snape

Words: 43,114

"The year was 1988, and on one quiet Sunday morning in the early days of a blisteringly hot July, the Dursleys departed from Number Four Privet Drive. This, by itself, was of little consequence. They habitually went to church most Sunday mornings. Except... this time they simply didn't return."

and the sequel Acid Reigns which is ongoing and has weekly updates.

𝙳𝙴𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙰𝙿𝙾𝙽𝚄𝙼 by shiterature

Remus Lupin/Severus Snape

Words: 188,359

"𝐝𝐞•𝐥𝐨•𝐜𝐚•𝐩𝐨•𝐧𝐮𝐦: 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 - 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍.

»»»»

“Why is it connecting us?” asks Remus, his voice safe and demure in Snape’s ear, his gold eyes bright with adventurous urgency.

“It can be difficult to discern,” replies Severus as he relays the same breed of oddity back to him — although copiously subdued — “but it’s doing an irritatingly thorough job of carrying through.”

»»»»

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏. A new acquaintance to the territory of teaching, an old friend to grief and misfortune, and entirely off on the wrong foot, twenty-one-year-old Professor Severus Snape reverts to an old charm of his — a charm for things that are lost — in attempt to find the one book in which he wrote it. But when the spell starts working against him and mysterious things start happening to his own students, it seems he has no choice but to form an alliance with an old schoolyard enemy in order to find a culprit, a book, and his own identity. And one thing is for certain: the irritating charm of Remus Lupin is nearly impossible to refuse."

And the sequel 𝚅𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙼𝙽𝙸𝙰 (ongoing, last update was in may 2024)

Godfathers by Lazlisz

Sirius Black/Severus Snape, Severus Snape & Harry Potter

Words: 95,869 - ongoing (regular updates)

"Severus Snape has traded what might be one of his last peaceful summers for a tumultuous few months housing the Boy Who Lived after Hogwarts' student registry notified him of a potential abuse case at Number Four Privet Drive. If that wasn't bad enough, he finds himself revealing far more than he ever should have—and far more than Albus Dumbledore ever would have allowed—to the boy about his past, and his mother. When Sirius Black reveals himself with the intent of saving his godson from Snape, the three of them end up standing begrudgingly together to find Peter Pettigrew and clear Black's name before the proper authorities can be involved.

Harry finds solace in the unexpected care of an unjustly convicted man and an ex-death eater; meanwhile Black grapples with repressed attraction to the man he'd spent his childhood tormenting."

Sacrifices Arc by Lightning on the Wave

A massive work, it consists of 7 parts, which are longer than the original Harry Potter series. It's AU in which Harry has a twin, eventual Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter & Severus Snape. Mostly Harry-centric, but I include it here because Snape is an important character in this story.

Saving Connor 

No Mouth But Some Serpent's

Comes Out of Darkness Morn

Freedom And Not Peace

Wind That Shakes The Seas and Stars

A Song In Time of Revolution

I Am Also Thy Brother

Cat, Bat and Dog by fromtheskytoyou

Sirius Black & Severus Snape

Words: 62,061 

"Severus survives the war but finds himself limited as he recovers from his injuries - a mixture of the snakebite and lasting nerve/mental damage from the Cruciatus Curse. Unable to be as solitary as he once was, he finds himself opening to people that his former self would have been disgusted at. And also he has a cat - which would be enough to draw me in."

This fic is inspired by Moonstone, which is also a great fanfiction!

[teddybearsandspaceships]

Some random notes from yesterday's (25/05/2024) Scar stream. Not even all of the best parts because there were so many, at one point I was just laughing out loud pretty much continuously.

A chatter mentions Scar being the "mob boss." Scar is immediately delighted. In the shopping district he won't be the zoo keeper, he'll be the mob boss with his own outfit etc.

Scar built the nether portal for his train (it looks super cool!) and is now transporting skeletons to the nether so they shoot anyone approaching it because he wants to discourage people from using his nether portal. He put his own heads on the skeletons and calls them "Scar Junior." Only one of them dies.

Doc shows up for distraction and support. He teaches Scar things about redstone, like how you can place a lever on the block next to a rail to activate it. They complain about the new YouTube layout, Doc blames Elon Musk, who according to Scar lives in Doc's head rent-free 28 hours a day.

"just because you look like a taxi driver in Indiana Jones doesn't make you less evil"

Ren shows up too. Doc and Ren start to complain about shipping. Scar tells them a heartwarming story about his local UPS guy.

apparently Doc was a wandering trader in the woods as a kid. He traded home-cooked German food to American soldiers from a nearby base. For ammunition.

Next topic: the "worst" (unrestricted) fireworks. At some point Doc does an exaggerated German accent. Doc also made a joke about Scar being 48, Scar says he prefers the rumors about him being smart and handsome, Doc says that's just the truth.

Scar and Doc getting trolled by horns, including Cub shouting "help" which they both thought was real for a second. Chat suspects "horn man" is Grian, but it's such a huge variety I'm pretty sure it has to be Cub. Finally Cub shows up (briefly)

After all the skeletons were moved Scar wants to add a drowned. He got the go-ahead from Etho to take one from his farm. Scar blocks off Etho's portal and Doc wonders what he's getting dragged into, calls himself an Ethogirl once again

unfortunate realization: a drowned will not attack people with tridents in the nether because there's neither water nor night time. But then chat did experiments and they say it should work? Spoiler: it works very well.

the first trident guy refused to put anything on his head, but the second one put on Scar's hat \o/ so he can even move during the day. It becomes night though, Scar asked people in chat to sleep and Bdubs logs on ^^ a few seconds too late though, Ren slept first.

Oh noo, the trident guy hit a free-ranging iron golem and was killed. Bdubs joins the group just to say it serves them right. Bdubs is telling on them to Etho.

Doc refuses to mess with Etho's landscaping. Bdubs makes a walkway but very carefully. Scar, head in hands, this is what it's like with Etho fangirls… next Minecon, Scar says he'll print Bdubs a shirt with Etho's face on it. Bdubs says Scar is the one obsessed with him, coming over all the time.

Scar talking about a Hermitcraft rule called the "open seas rule", if something is built on the ocean it's free for taking. (Bdubs is skeptical)

Bdubs says dealing with Etho is like dealing with a rabbit. Don't pester it, you just have to leave it and it'll come to you. "How many moms does Etho have on this server." "This is what it's like having a friend." "Oh I wouldn't know" xD "We're friends not moms"

Doc complains about how hungry he is. It's late and he really wants to eat his mini pizza. Scar: why don't you just get a feeding tube, then you don't have to eat.

Bdubs: "I'm just taking notes for Etho later." Scar: "this is just Limited Life the whole time." "Every second is a second closer to Etho logging on and catching you guys"

Scar is now shifting the blame for their misfortunes to Tango because he never offered help or even made jokes in chat. Threatens to throw him out of the LNC, even ^^

"Ooh, you're not trapping Etho's portal!" "No, it's his own" "Oh there's no reason for me to be here then." Bdubs logs out immediately, then…

NOW Etho logs in xD "Etho's here, he's gonna come over here and cause an issue." "What's this about trapping my portal?", and other quotes such as, "I'm watching what you're doing Scar and it's infuriating me." "Put some water down" ("It's the nether!"), telling Bdubs he should have let his iron golem die instead of healing it, and "What you're building a rollercoaster over here, what is this"

"How do we do this, Doc?" "I don't know, give Etho some blocks and let him do it" "No no, I came for the show" Doc is just standing there with two dozen tridents in the ground in front of him xD

"You're like the muppets, those two older ones" - Doc about Ethubs. "We're the comic relief" "Yeah that's it"

Etho is concerned, they're representing Hermitcraft after all, people will think they're incompetent. Etho: "Tango, what do you think?" "Oh god don't tell me Tango's here." Tango is now here :D

Scar: "just to be clear, I am competent, things just didn't go to plan…"

Scar is in protest to both the nether and their nether hub. Etho: "If only we had a couple people around here often referred to as the best builders ever…"

Etho, contemplating the skeletons and trident guy: "So what are you going to do if Cub comes by with his Thorns armor?" Scar hides his head in his hands.

aww, Bdubs and Tango telling Scar LNC will help him with that mountain ^^

Doc finally logs out. Spoiler: he got his mini pizza.

[cheswirls]

playing around with an experimental idea of different modern scenarios all tethered together by the theme of ill-fated, star-crossed lovers doomed to their destiny. below is probably the penultimate if not the final in a string of scenes, a taste of happiness closer than others but still out of reach.

i think it would be cool to work backwards?? to start at the last and then transition to the beginning. all varying length, some more brief than others to hammer in the futility. this is????? uhhh idk i am still questioning if this would even be interesting. entirely an idea for now.

this one comes after sabo has decided that he's going to escape fate at all costs, this time. the start is more choppy as i'm rambling to establish what's in my head but it settles out when i get into the scene :) sry in advance

-

Even when sabo tries to cut his losses and get away, somehow, ace still finds him

Sabo maps his life around a career in the most remote area of the world so he won’t ever have to see ace again, gets a reputation as “devoted to his work” scientist at base camp that doesn’t like to socialize and usually keeps to himself. After a year, one of the (to him) more senior researchers announces her retirement plan, and more importantly, her replacements. Sabo is surprised they’re getting two new people in return but this is apparently old news. Senior is moving back home to marry astronaut returning from iss, their homecomings coincide and it’s supposed to be really sweet but it just leaves a sour taste in sabo’s mouth that he has to forcefully smile around to make amenities. 

Against all odds, ace is one of the newcomers that joins them after the month is up. Sabo tries to maintain distance despite ace’s friendly attempts and affection, and his coworkers brush aside sabo’s attitude to ace as “his usual, he’s always like that. He likes his samples and specimens more than he does any of us.”

But ace doesn’t back down, and surprises sabo by being fluent in english despite his japanese background. It’s not posh european english like sabo had grown used to, but tinged with an accent that suggests he probably spent some extended time in australia. Sabo pretends to not speak english, knocking ace off guard, but the next time they run into each other, ace says his greeting/question/offer in german.

It’s good german too, which shocks sabo enough into giving a normal answer, if not just a response in general. Ace is pleased by this and tries his luck, keeps going with a nonchalant explanation that his mother’s family was german and he’s picked up enough of it over the years to pass as fluent in conversation. 

Sabo feels his cold exterior thawing. He allows ace’s greetings from then on, sometimes quietly echoes back the sentiments in soft-spoken german. No one else at camp ever knows what the two are saying and they’re not keen to share, but they do notice that easygoing ace has finally worn sabo’s shell until he can squeeze himself inside. 

Slowly, sabo feels himself giving in, unable to resist ace’s pull. He starts teaching ace to read written german as he pens in his research notes for the day, ace squeezing his way onto the bench corner sabo’s sat himself in or worming close to sabo’s side wherever he’s decided to settle down for the evening. At first it’s just the little articles and basic words, but soon sabo is muffling his laughter as ace gets tongue-tied trying to read off some of the more long-winded scientific terms. 

Ace knows a bit of spanish from his father and often converses to the researchers from argentina and chile in their native language, and he’s found a special place in the hearts of the scientists from south africa, norway, sri lanka, and new zealand. He’s a busy body and very sociable, so it’s no surprise that he eventually ends up pulling sabo into the edge of goings-on. 

Though sabo is still keen to keep everyone at a distance, ace becomes the exception. An observation slowly makes its way through camp following ace dragging sabo out (just the two of them) on a much-needed day off. They plant themselves safely in the snow out in the middle of nowhere and stare into the sky through their uv goggles. 

Conversation floats between them, idle and meaningless. It’s sabo that first broaches a personal topic, asking ace why he’d ever want to come out here and what led him to this path. Ace throws the same question back and sabo feels encouraged to answer first, less vaguely than he’d like admitting that he fell in love with the work he’s doing, but also that he wanted somewhere remote to be at to escape the bustle of the world at large.

Ace, like sabo, says that he’d experimentally tried something similar in secondary education and enjoyed it, and that led to a research seminar in aussie that turned into a full summer of him being a temp in a science facility. Eventually he’d fallen down the specific rabbit hole (that he’s concentrated on as his area of focus while in antarctica) and after being an assistant for a while, he got this opportunity.

And, yeah, it was different. He’s used to “the bustle” as sabo put it, used to sprawling metro areas and unceasing noise and unending crowds. Given this chance to come out here was definitely something he’d had to think about, but also . . . found that the decision wasn’t all that hard. He felt compelled to take the offer, like something was calling to him.

Maybe . . . he’d been destined to spend time in the middle of nowhere because it’s where sabo was, because sabo had chosen to remove himself from society. Ace says this as a joke, but the notion makes sabo’s breath catch. He doesn’t fight back when ace’s hand settles into his own. He can’t resist the pull of the universe, and he lacks the desire to do so this time around. He’d tried, hadn’t he? And still, here was ace, worming his way into sabo’s heart. With his wavy surfer hair and bright eyes and the tan that should’ve faded after his first month on the continent. 

So sabo lets ace pull him close and whisper “ich liebe dich” where he knows sabo can hear, and maybe they make out and roll around in the snow as much as their protective gear allows. They come back composed and don’t stay glued at the hip, but sabo smiles more that night over drinks as everyone celebrates the wrap-up to their long-awaited day off than he has the entire rest of the time he’s been at this base camp.

Sabo keeps smiling after that night, which is how others start cluing in. he adopts this relaxed air that becomes saturated whenever he’s in reaching distance of ace. Suddenly it’s not ace making space for himself near sabo, but sabo leaving it for ace. Ace may become slightly more accommodating, just a bit more in tune with sabo’s condition, but it’s not ace bringing an extra cup of hot water when sabo’s been hunched around his notes for long enough. It’s sabo accepting the cup without argument, with a warm smile, and shifting so ace can settle down beside him. 

It comes as a shock more to the other six that sabo isn’t asexual, rather than him and ace being (probably) romantically involved. What had been paraded around as a joke, maybe as a bromance of sorts, or just that ace was sabo’s only friend, settles in as something different entirely as everyone clocks in at different points. The “oh, they’re not buddies, they’re like that”

Some nights, when it’s late enough that sabo is the only one awake and ace’s careful prodding manages to win him over, he’ll let ace pull him from his work and settle him down in ace’s own cot, both pressed close together to stave off the night’s chill. Some nights sabo will let ace pull one of his sleep shirts down over sabo’s head and tries not to bask in the similar sensation of a thousand different lifetimes as he huddles into the soft material. 

Ace knows sabo likes his personal space, so he doesn’t encroach on sabo’s room, nor does he ask sabo to move his current task to ace’s own room. But sometimes, he’ll find himself perched on the edge of sabo’s cot, legs swinging as he quietly bemoans how much longer sabo is going to leave him. He’ll recline onto sabo’s comforter and counter sabo’s short refusal with another long-winded lament on his boyfriend leaving him to get cold.

It’s one of these nights that sabo stops and powers down his monitor and sets his spectacles aside and turns to find ace conked out behind him. While it’s easy enough to rouse ace, it’s hard to resist temptation when ace opens both arms for sabo to fall into instead of moving off the cot to lead sabo to his own room. They end up falling asleep on top of the covers with one of the small lamplights left on overnight. 

The combination of ace’s room being empty when someone comes looking and a light being visible under sabo’s door has an unanswered knock lead to a fellow scientist peeking into sabo’s room to see the two nestled together. (and the only indication to being discovered is a comment about conserving power made that next morning that sabo takes as someone noticing the light he’d left on instead of what ace clocks it as - the two being discovered.)

The only time it becomes obvious that they’ve been found out by a majority of camp is a rare moment when a digital camera is produced and a point is made by the photographer to center in on ace and sabo sat side by side on a couch in the main room and (“say cheese!” ot equivalent). Sabo looks toward the lens in question, not quite caught up in the hubbub like everyone else present, but ace throws an arm around sabo’s shoulders and grins wide, maybe flashes a peace with his other hand that appeases the photographer of the hour. When sabo looks confused by ace’s hold, ace leans close to whisper in sabo’s ear (in german) that they’ve been found out.

Sabo looks rightfully flustered by this, but ace takes it in stride, refusing to release his arm from around sabo, and then having the audacity to grin big and bright when sabo faces him with face just a bit flushed that it’s noticeable, and then another click of the camera draws their attention away, and taken further still when the room erupts into raucous applause with everyone’s eyes on the two of them. 

Everyone is polite about the whole affair, no vulgar jokes or innuendos are made or anything, but it is obvious that the jig is up concerning the two of them and their relationship. Sabo spends the evening with his face covered by both hands, buried in ace’s sharply-defined lats, or nay-high in another glass of champagne from the bottle that’d been smuggled aboard. He becomes more and more mute the longer the night goes on. At the end of it all, the designated photographer calls for attention and asks what the celebration was for, of which only ace has the answer: that same person’s birthday is that day. Sabo is surprised ace remembered such a mundane fact but keeps it to himself.

When asked, ace admits he’d known because said researcher’s passcode to some impt shared machine is their 8-digit date of birth, but after being ragged on, ace names off everyone’s birthdays in turn, surprising them all that he’d bothered to remember. It’s also, to note, the first time any of them learn sabo’s birthday, and that it’d been the same day off he and ace had spend together earlier in the year, at the end of summer.

That next morning, since there’s nothing to hide anymore, those that wake up especially early are greeted to the sight of sabo’s glorious bedhead slumped over the kitchen counter as ace busies himself fixing up a personal hangover cure with what ingredients they had available. Sabo had been on (delivery) duty that week and had been roused unwillingly from bed at an ungodly time of the morning to oversee their shipment of fish being delivered while ace played chaperone. It’s the very first time any of them see sabo in his nightclothes, and probably the only time ever they can claim sabo as “cute”, or his behavior anyway - the sole way he relies on ace but also the way he pouts and how he remains only half-awake with the excuse of his head pounding. His german is so sluggish that no one but ace has any chance of parsing what he’s saying, but before the sun is up too high, ace has fixed sabo’s headache and ushered him back to his room to get ready for the day. The late-risers miss the event entirely, and ace swears those present to secrecy to keep sabo’s dignity intact.

This of course ends in some grandiose way where ace’s time on the continent runs out and he’s set to return home and put his results to use. He stays up late making silly plans with sabo to move somewhere the two have never been to before and work remote, hinged on the notion that their norwegian coworker originated from greenland, and the one from sri lanka is sponsored by and works in tandem with an indian facility. They know in the long run that it’s all far-off fantasies and well-wishes born from their limited time left together.

But then sabo gets an offer. He’s working in a remote multinational camp while reporting all his results to a year-round german station, and it just so happens that one of the station’s new on-boards is interested in sabo’s (area of continent). Sabo has a chance to trade posts with another german scientist, and he jumps on the opportunity. It takes a bit for the transfer to be approved, and in that time, sabo manages to secure a summer-only position that will ensure he’s off-site april through september. 

This is the best he can do on short notice, but it’s enough for now. He can transition until he’s out of antarctica permanently, eventually, but to do that he’ll have to figure out what exactly he wants to do after he leaves. Something he hasn’t bothered to parse his thoughts about, apart from late-night nonsensical talks with ace. Talks that suddenly seem more in reach now more than ever.

At the main station, sabo gets limited access to slow wifi and manages to talk with ace over video call twice. They make plans for sabo to come to australia on ace’s visa while ace is still finalizing the last of his research and transfer to a japanese company. They don’t have to stay in japan, but if they get married in australia (which will ensure the union is recognized in japan), it’ll be easier for sabo to gain citizenship from a spousal visa than it will from a work-related one. 

All of this is hashed out over two limited conversations, with promise that the details can be sorted out in person. Before the last call ends, sabo engrains in his mind ace’s smiling face, waving hands, wishing sabo well and safe travels. He finishes his summer term at the station with enthusiasm and says goodbye to antarctica for a short while after many years of residency without once leaving the surface.

He talks with ace over the phone just before his plane in germany leaves. It’s a long flight with a brief layover, and sabo is too preoccupied finding his next terminal to touch base with ace again. After over half a day, sabo lands at an airport almost dead on his feet even with the nap he got in earlier while among the clouds. He has a travel visa on his person that he’s expected to get changed to a spousal visa as soon as ace was able to book them, but he’s never given the opportunity.

The airport is full of activity as usual, but those not buried in their own world are focused on the same news feed playing over every other screen in sabo’s wing of the building. The focus is a developing story on a certain research facility that caught fire early in the morning. Sabo stops to observe right as a list of the deceased covers the screen. To him, ace’s photo is front and center, almost laughably so.

And so, once more, ace is destined to die while sabo can do nothing to prevent it. Fated for the worst of outcomes, lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. And then the story works backwards, showing glimpses of sabo’s life with ace, each preceding the next, all up until a certain encounter in the jungles of a small island in the east blue. Some lives, sabo will know everything. Then there are lives where he’s blessed to be ignorant up until the very end. Sometimes all he will know is ace, and other times all he’ll have is the faint idea of ace, an impression that only makes itself known when ace presents himself. Sabo never can decide if it’s reincarnation or some twisted form of immortality: All he knows for sure is that the universe will never, ever let him keep ace for long.

[scottpetersen]

Honestly, I think that Haley Long from the American Dragon Jake Long TV series, Janna from the Star VS The Forces Of Evil TV series, Luz Noceda and Amity Blight from The Owl House TV series and Cedric The Sensational from the Sofia The First TV series would interact quite well with one of @boingodigitalart’s dream teams which consists of Webby Vanderquack, Lena Sabrewing and Violet Sabrewing from the DuckTales (2017) TV series and Morgana Macawber from the Darkwing Duck (1991) TV series who all are enthusiastic about magic.

After all, as shown in the episode ‘Switcheroo’, Haley is a shapeshifting dragon who is quite the rule follower and does quite well in school and, as shown in the episode ‘Family Business’, she did pretty good in her dragon training. So, I think that Haley would help Webby, Lena, Violet and Morgana study every written record they could about how magic works and would also get along quite well with Webby in particular considering that Webby also loved learning and also did pretty good in her own training as a fighter as shown in the episode ‘From The Confidential Casefiles Of Agent 22!’, where Webby learned quite well from records about Scrooge McDuck’s adventures and was quite a big help to Scrooge when it came to helping him fight his way through all the obstacles in their path and fending off Black Heron. So, I think that Haley and Webby would like to spar with each other and help improve each other’s fighting skills. And, given that, as shown in the episode ‘The Doppelganger Gang’, the dragons from the American Dragon Jake Long universe have the ability to make copies of themselves as well as, as shown throughout the American Dragon Jake Long TV series, the ability to fly and breath fire, I also think that Webby would like to help Haley use those dragon abilities to the utmost efficiency in a fight. Also, given that, as shown in the episode ‘Escape From The ImpossiBin!’, Webby was able to use German paper cutting to trick Huey and Dewey by making a paper cut out of her silhouette look like her shadow and that, as I pointed out earlier, Haley did pretty well in school, I think that Webby can teach Haley to use skills like German paper cutting to confuse her opponents. And given that, as I pointed out earlier, Haley was quite a rule follower who prefers following school rules and that, as shown in the episode ‘Escape To/From Atlantas!’ Webby was also, at least usually, quite a rule follower who wasn’t quite used to going against her grandma Beakley’s wishes, I think that’s another reason Haley and Webby would get along quite well since they both usually prefer following the rules.

As shown in the episode ‘Bon Bon The Birthday Clown’, Janna is quite an enthusiast when it comes to the concept of magic. So, I think that Janna would really like to learn a thing or 2 from Morgana since, as shown in the episode ‘Fungus Amongus’, Morgana is a skilled sorceress. Also, given that, as shown in the episode ‘Rest In Pudding’, Janna also seems to have a collection of magic-related trinkets, I think that she would really want to see any real magical artifacts that Webby, Lena, Violet and Morgana find. As a side note, I think that Webby, Lena, Violet and Morgana would be quite fascinated if they were to see that when the version of Janna from the Janna VS The Forces Of Darkness fanfic had Marco Diaz use a book scanner on the Butterfly family’s Magic Book Of Spells to get its contents on phone, its contents were somehow transferred to her phone instead of copied to it. And given that Violet, as shown in the episode ‘Friendship Hates Magic!’, is quite book smart and is also smart when it comes to magic, I think that she might be able to figure out why that happened. And I think that Violet would take into account the fact that, as shown in the @therussohousehold’s Janna VS The Forces Of Darkness fanfic which was inspired by @skleero’s Janna Vs. The Forces Of Evil AU, the Magic Book Of Spells apparently counted being scanned by an overhead book scanner as being read thus temporarily bringing its spells to life and that would probably make sense to Violet since, given how book smart she is, she would probably know that an overhead book scanner’s camera (and cameras in general too for that matter) operates similarly to a person’s eyesight since both involve taking light that bounces off of the objects they’re viewing and converting it into something electrical. And I think that Violet would theorize and take into account that the Magic Book Of Spells probably creates some sort of magical link between itself and its owner given that, as shown in the episode ‘Book Be Gone’, the Magic Book Of Spells seems to recognize the person who reads it as its owner and prevents anyone who doesn’t own it from writing in it. And Violet would also realize that a book scanner would technically fit neither category since it’s just a device and thus doesn’t count as a person at all and that the book scanner would be taking light that’s bouncing off the Magic Book Of Spells. So, based on all this, I think that one theory Violet might come up with is that, if some of the book’s magic had piggybacked on the light bouncing off the book, then that probably created a magical link between the book and the light bouncing off it. And, based on that, Violet might conclude that when the book scanner’s camera took that light and converted it into electrical data, it converted the Magic Book Of Spells’ contents along with it and that it didn’t also happen with a person’s eyesight because it adapted to their consciousness since the book recognizes its owner but a book scanner has no consciousness to adapt to. Violet might also come up with another theory by picturing the Magic Book Of Spells as a dot labeled Point A and anyone (or anything) who reads it as a dot labeled Point B with the magical link that the Magic Book Of Spells makes with its owner being the line between the 2 dots. In the case of the Magic Book Of Spells and the person who owns it, Point A and Point B are indeed connected together by the line. In the case of the Magic Book Of Spells and the person who doesn’t own it, there’s no line between Point A and Point B to connect them. And in the case of the Magic Book Of Spells and a book scanner that doesn’t count as a person at all, the book’s magic got confused and thus did something in between by making a line that was connected to Point A but, instead of also being connected to Point B, the line pointed at it and led Point A towards it like an arrow just like how the Magic Book Of Spells’ contents were led into the book scanner and then into Janna’s phone.

As for Luz Noceda and Amity Blight, I think that Luz and Amity would get along quite well with Webby and Lena respectively in particular. In the case of Luz and Webby, I think that they would get along quite well because, as I pointed out in my Compare/Contrast of Webby Vanderquack and Lena Sabrewing And Luz Noceda and Amity Blight post, both of them are quite optimistic as shown in the episode ‘Witches Before Wizards’ where she was quite optimistic when it came to being a witch’s apprentice and learning magic and, as shown in the episode ‘Daytrip Of Doom!’ where Webby was quite about going on an outing with Huey, Dewey and Louie. And, in the case of Lena and Amity, I think that they would get along quite along quite well because, as I also pointed out in my Compare/Contrast of Webby Vanderquack and Lena Sabrewing And Luz Noceda and Amity Blight post, they’re practically kindred spirits since they both had abusive parental figures who tried to kill their loved ones as shown in the episode ‘The Shadow War Part 2: The Day Of The Ducks!’ where Lena’s aunt Magica used Lena and tried to kill Webby who Lena formed a very close bond with and as shown in the episode ‘Escaping Expulsion’ where Amity’s mother tried to stop Amity from forming attachments with Luz, Willow and Gus and also almost got Luz killed in an Abomination demonstration. And I think that Luz and Amity would be very enthusiastic about helping Webby, Lena, Violet and Morgana learn more about magic. And speaking of learning more about magic, I think that Webby, Lena, Violet and Morgana would be quite fascinated by Luz’s Glyph magic which, as shown in the episode ‘The Intruder’, is about drawing magical symbols that symbolize certain elements and bringing those elements to life when the symbol is tapped and also quite fascinated by Amity’s witch magic which, as stated in the episode ‘The Intruder’ works because of the witches’ somewhat unique anatomy. And I think that Lena might get creative and see if there’s a way to combine Glyph magic with witch magic since, as shown in the episode ‘The Beagle Boy Breakout!’, Lena tends to think outside the box. And they would probably also be fascinated by how the Glyphs, as shown in the episode ‘Escaping Expulsion’, can be combined to create certain spells.

As for Cedric The Sensational, I think that he would get along surprisingly well with Morgana since, as shown in the episode ‘Cedric’s Apprentice’, Cedric formed a bond with Princess Sofia despite wanting to steal her magic amulet at first and, as shown in the episode ‘Fungus Amongus’, Morgana formed a romantic attachment to Darkwing Duck. So, both Cedric and Morgana grew attached to their enemy in some way. And I think that Cedric might also help boost Lena’s morale with her magic when she’s having trouble with it since, as shown in the episode ‘Substitute Cedric’, Cedric was able to boost an entire class’s morale with their magic training during his Never Forget The Sorcerer’s Secret musical number by telling them to never give up. Lena would probably take Cedric’s advice since, as shown in the episode ‘Nightmare On Killmotor Hill!’, she was able to stand up against Magica De Spell by persevering through her nightmares with the help of her loved ones and not giving up. But Lena would probably also find it strange that Cedric would use a musical number to convey the lesson. Also, I think that Webby, Lena, Violet and Morgana would like to theorize about the Amulet Of Avalor given what Cedric found out about it in the episode ‘Hexley Hall’ which was that the Amulet Of Avalor’s powers change depending on who is trapped inside it.

[public-school-things]

When my freshman year German teacher left and the new teacher came, it was found out apparently the old teacher was trying to teach us 'Pennsylvania Deutsche' (Amish). Not German. I have literally never gotten over that. THIS GUY WAS TEACHING THERE SINCE THE 90S AND NOBODY. NOT A SOUL EVER NOTICED!!!!!

(This is like trying to teach the modern English language using unaltered Shakespeare)

that is in a way so fucking hysterical. im surprised no one noticed. did you guys not have language standardized tests? either way, thats so amusing omg.

[iliveinprocrasti-nationn]

For those interested, here's my essay on the inaccuracies within John Boyne's "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and the damage the book/film do to Holocaust education. The essay is formatted as a hypothetical letter to a person who might have the ability to make positive change in response. All credit for this essay belongs to me, and I have included my bibliography at the bottom.

Dear Dr. Miguel Cardona, 

It’s been 90 years since Adolf Hitler came to power and the Holocaust began. In that time, myths, fallacies, and outright denial of the genocide have spread past the fringes of societies and moved into the mainstream. Study after study finds that knowledge about the Holocaust is not only waning, but false beliefs are becoming more common (Schoen Consulting) (Alper). Much of the ignorance propagating these beliefs is beginning in schools, and, though introducing the subject at its most honest is not appropriate for young ages, beginning education early is critical to students with no connection being able to understand the historical event. Unfortunately, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, one of the most common books used in early Holocaust education, has instead been found to create more fallacies about the subject about which it’s supposed to educate. As a result, Boyne’s book works against the teaching of this part of history. I ask you and The Department of Education to make a statement and discourage the use of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in early Holocaust education. 

The inaccuracies in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas begin in the characters. As a 9-year-old German boy and son of a high-ranking Nazi official, Bruno might have been preparing to join the Hitler-Jugend, known also as Hitler Youth, though it’s more likely he already would have been a member. In addition, he would have been entrenched in academic propaganda where “The Jew [was] held up to the children of Germany as the target for this racial hatred and vindictiveness” (Kunzer, 146). The apparent case of Bruno not even knowing what a “Jew” is (Boyne, 95) adds to the falsehoods creating the character. Though this is an extreme example, inaccuracies like this aid in the common myth that Germans didn’t know the events occurring or the actions against Jewish people. In reality, propaganda against Jews was baked into every aspect of society and easily observable at the time, such as in Kunzer’s report. Germans knew that the Jewish people were being removed from society, and most supported it or were at least ambivalent. There would have been no friendship between Shmuel and Bruno, and certainly not one based off Bruno’s ignorance when history has made it clear he would have seen the Jews the way almost all Germans did: as the enemy. 

It’s also highly unlikely that Shmuel, as a 9-year-old Jewish boy, would be alive in Auschwitz. Though no specific camp is specified, Bruno’s perspective has the characters solely referring to the location as the mispronunciation “Out-With”, such as on page 28, suggesting the camp being Auschwitz despite the setting descriptions being inaccurate to that location. Officially, records found about 23,000 young people were registered in the camp (Fate of children in Auschwitz), with about 500 under 15 being liberated by Soviet Soldiers and most having had only been in the extermination camp a few months (The fate of the children). Children in extermination camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau were often only spared for one of two reasons. One, they were deemed able enough to be used for labor (which was used both for construction and production and as another method to kill the prisoners within the camp), or, two, they were used for the human experiments which took place within the camp (Children During the Holocaust). Even then, it’s likely Shmuel would have been sent to the gas chamber upon arrival. The lack of historical accuracy involved in Shmuel’s character creates the idea that there was any sort of childhood within Auschwitz. The children who were spared were not children, but numbers. The falsehoods take away the brutality of the Holocaust, padding it and making it gentle - not to make it acceptable to young readers, but instead to rewrite it.  

I understand my allegations of the damage The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas can and has done to modern youth’s understanding of the Holocaust might seem like extrapolation, but multiple studies have found children believe fallacies which stem directly from this book or its film adaptation. The majority of studies on impact seem to be done in England, but their findings are concerning nonetheless considering the book and film’s widespread use in America. In one study, Dr. Michael Gray looked at 298 eighth grade-equivalent students in four English schools “who had not previously studied the Holocaust in history at secondary school level” (Gray, 114). 12.8% of students directly referenced The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas when talking about their previous knowledge about the Holocaust (114), with some students mentioning the film’s “great insight” (115) and others mentioning the fictionality while saying many events are still factual (116). This seemed to be a trend; the fictionality was acknowledged, but many aspects in the story were nevertheless upheld as truth (116-117). Even with the book's identification as "A Fable" (Boyne, 1) it was also found some pupils believed it was true (116, 117). From misconceptions about deportations (119) to having complete misunderstanding about the roles of Sonderkommando (120-121), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas seems to have wrought havoc on many students’ understanding of the Holocaust. 

The most worrying impact of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is the Nazi sympathy it seems to induce. The finale of the book and film are likely the primary sources as the ending sees Bruno killed after mistakenly going into a gas chamber with Shmuel and several other prisoners. These final chapters, 19 and 20, focus not on the camp or the purposeful murder of Jewish people, but instead on the grief of Bruno’s family and their new victimhood as a byproduct of the system from which they benefitted. The entire focus is taken from the Jewish people forced into the gas chambers with the goal of extermination and instead shifted onto the Nazis, looking solely at their sadness – the camp is depicted victimless until a Nazi’s son is the victim. This perhaps is what creates results seen in studies like the University College London Centre for Holocaust Education’s study on students’ knowledge of the Holocaust (Foster) which included a section on the impacts of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. The study noted students saying things such as “...it doesn’t matter who was the bigger victim, they were all still victim of Hitler’s control in some shape or form” and “Yes, it is too easy to feel sorry for the Jews in the film” (Foster, et al., 93) which were directly fuelled by the book or film. To place Jewish people and Nazis as equal victims of the Holocaust is to distort the history. The intentionality of targeting the Jewish people (and others, such as Romani people) needs to be understood to teach students to recognise the scapegoating and dehumanisation that can precede similar disasters. Despite the subject matter, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas causes students to disengage entirely with the Jewish people impacted and instead turn their sympathy towards the Nazis, erasing the victims from their own genocide.  

John Boyne is not unaware of the criticism of his book which has come from sources like Maus author Art Spiegelman (Lapin) and the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial (Auschwitz Memorial). In response to this criticism, Boyne told The Guardian, “...my novel, which, of course, was a work of fiction... therefore by its nature cannot contain inaccuracies, only anachronisms, and I don’t think there are any of those in there” (Flood). I have already pointed out numerous inaccuracies within the work. In addition, the allegation that historical fiction is somehow immune to inaccuracy is so flagrantly false that I struggle to understand how one could even make that statement. Though I could go into the myriad of ways historical fiction can absolutely be inaccurate, Dr. Michael Gray articulated it better when he said “...any author or film maker who chooses to use the Holocaust as their context, especially one who sets the film around a commandant and Auschwitz, is, whether they recognise it or not, producing a Holocaust story” (Gray, 125). It doesn’t matter what Boyne believes or how he views the falsehoods in his book when historians, impact studies, and a myriad of other sources prove the book incorrect as well as harmful. An author, even of historical fiction, cannot negate the facts - especially when their chosen setting has come to define a genocide.  

Dr. Cardona, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas contains inaccuracies which actively work against the education it claims to bolster. Discouraging the use of this book in Holocaust education in favor of options like Susan Goldman Rubin’s The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezinor Anne Frank’s well known The Diary of a Young Girl is to eliminate a creator of many of the Holocaust myths which historians and Jewish groups work to combat. Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

J

Bibliography 

Alper, Becka A., et al. “What Americans Know About The Holocaust.” Pew Research Center, Jan 2020. Accessed 29 Oct 2023. 

“Auschwitz-Birkenau.” My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/auschwitz-birkenau/. Accessed 15 Oct 2023.  

Auschwitz Memorial [@AuschwitzMuseum]. “We understand those concerns, and we already addressed the inaccuracies in some books published. However, “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” should be avoided by anyone who studies or teaches about the history of the Holocaust.” X, 5 Jan 2020, https://twitter.com/AuschwitzMuseum/status/1213807345932931072. Accessed 3 Oct 2023.  

Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Black Swan Edition, David Fickling Books, 2007. https://archive.org/details/the-boy-in-the-striped-pijamas/mode/1up. Accessed 22 Oct 2023.  

“Children During the Holocaust.” My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/children-during-the-holocaust/. Accessed 15 Oct 2023.

“The fate of the children.” Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/fate-of-children/the-fate-of-the-children/. Accessed 15 Oct 2023.  

“Fate of children in Auschwitz.” Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, https://www.auschwitz.org/en/fate-of-children-in-auschwitz/. Accessed 15 Oct 2023.  

Flood, Allison. “The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas author defends work from criticism by Auschwitz memorial.” The Guardian, 7 Jan 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/07/john-boyne-defends-work-from-criticism-by-auschwitz-memorial. Accessed 22 Oct 2023.  

Foster, Stuart, et al. “What do students know and understand about the Holocaust? Evidence from English secondary schools”. University College London Centre for Holocaust Education, 2016, https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1475816/14/Foster_What-do-students-know-and-understand-about-the-Holocaust-2nd-Ed.pdf. Accessed 29 Oct 2023.

Gray, Michael. “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: A Blessing or Curse for Holocaust Education?”. A Journal of Culture and History, vol. 20, no. 3, 2014, pg. 109-136, https://gcedclearinghouse.org/sites/default/files/resources/The%20boy%20in%20the%20striped%20pyjamas.PDF. Accessed 22 Oct 2023.  

Kunzer, Edward J. “‘Education’ Under Hitler.” The Journal of Educational Sociology, vol. 13, no. 3, 1939, pp. 140-147. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2262306. Accessed 15 Oct 2023. 

Lapin, Andrew. “Art Spiegleman, speaking to Tennesseeans, says ‘Maus’ controversy is ‘about controlling’.” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 7 Feb 2022,  https://www.jta.org/2022/02/07/united-states/art-spiegelman-speaking-to-tennesseeans-says-maus-controversy-is-about-controlling. Accessed 3 Oct 2023.  

Schoen Consulting. “Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Study.” Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, 2018, https://www.claimscon.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/04/Holocaust-Knowledge-Awareness-Study_Executive-Summary-2018.pdf. Accessed 29 Oct 2023.  

[queen-susans-revenge]

Things My Momma Taught Me

(reprinted: I actually wrote this years ago, but just stumbled across it again. And we're not too far off Mother's Day, so.)

So I was walking around the Tenderloin looking for stray twenty-dollar-bills that might have fallen into gutters, and I was thinking, as I often do, about my mother.

A few years ago my mom got all upset because she heard that today's youth lacked moral guidance. So she sat me down and she said, "Daughter," she said:

Don't ever cross a picket line.

Work for Greeks.

Don't you ever eat something that you find dead at the side of the road, unless you were in the car that killed it.

I'm not sure where my mom got her fine Depression-era set of ethics, except that I think she heard the last one on a radio show. Her enduring affinity for Greek employers (and her corresponding loathing for the French) probably stems from her experience working as a waitress in Alsace and Italy. Apparently, if you innocently drop a plate full of spaghetti in somebody's lap, and they have to go and make a big stink about it, your Greek boss will defend you, whereas your German boss will take the comp'ed meal out of your paycheck, and your French boss will probably slap you across the face.

Anyway, it's the first point that really stuck with me: I'm convinced that, in the Final Judgement, when the goddess Ma'at weighs our hearts on her golden scales, the murderers will make out better than the scabs. (And bad tippers will be thrown straight into the jaws of the crocodile.)

But speaking of my mom's international wisdom:

It's best if you don't eat raw oysters in a Mexican street market.

Here followed a tale of heartbreak and amoebic dysentery. But my mom survived both the oysters and the French, and pulled herself up by her bootstraps to become the world's leading eastern North-American paleoethnobotanist, which was always a lot of fun to write in the little blank under "Mother's Occupation." Now when she calls me up, her conversation tends to go something like this:

"It turns out you can tell the species of acorn just by looking very closely under the microscope. So that's very exciting. I'm going to have to try that on my own acorns when I get home. Mmph. Excuse me. I was pulling a cork out of a wine bottle, with my teeth."

But all intrepid globetrotting archaeologists need their endearing phobias. For Indiana Jones it was snakes. For my mom it's blimps. I don't know if she was a Hindenburg victim in a past life or what, but it's really no fun being in a car with her if there's a Goodyear Blimp in sight. She keeps scanning the sky anxiously, wondering if it's following her, wondering if it's watching us. Also among her bizarre phobias is the conviction that I'll be sent to jail someday…ha ha! Trés absurd!

Laugh, damn you.

Anyway, back to the blimp thing. For a woman of science, Mom is actually very attuned to signs and portents. There was this one time that a headless pigeon fell from the sky, literally at her feet.

These are bad times.

"These are bad times," she told me. "Bad times, when headless pigeons fall from the sky." And I can't deny it.*

But the last thing my mom taught me, the biggest thing really, and more important than Fortean events, is the definition of love. I remember when I was a little kid, I got worms. Just like a dog. Tiny little white wrigglers that squimed around in my asshole. And they itched and would keep me awake at night. So I remember that, in the weeks it took for my de-worming pills to work, my mom would spend an hour or so every night picking these worms out of my butt so that I could get to sleep.

That is love, in all its shocking profundity. When you spend hours picking worms out of somebody's buttcrack, that is love.

So, I love you too, Mom. Thanks for picking the worms out of my butt. Thanks for getting me drunk all those times. Thanks for teaching me right from wrong, and thanks, in advance, for posting my bail.

Happy Mother's Day.

*later she called me back up to tell me it was a good portent actually. It happened because a hawk had moved in to the neighborhood.

[lil-gae-disaster]

@marsfingershurt then I shall satisfy the voices

(Disclaimer: Isa and Freddie actually talk in german but bcs I don't know if you know (enough) german I'll keep the dialog english)

_____

It has been a few years since Henrietta has gone from the earth

Their father always told him his mother had returned from whence she came.

He spoke of her as if she was an angel visiting earth. He always told his children he felt unworthy of her hand in marriage.

But that was not the case in this instant.

Their father was on the field, their maid had been tasked with baking this months bread they would sell on the city market. Both the children always enjoyed seeing the different kinds of people living next to each other and buying things from each other.

But right now, they were also doing something they enjoyed.

Frederick was trying to sound stern as he imitated the maid lecturing him on why it was not enjoyable when he refused to learn what she has tasked him to learn.

"It will stunt your intelligence, young man. I am aware that you have quite the intelligence, but this does not excuse you from seeking more" he imitated with a stern tone and voice, which were promptly lost to his childish giggles.

He was fourteen years old, and yet he behaved as if he were 12, which the small Isa found very amusing.

They had found a place under one of the older trees, it had apparently been planted by their ancestor in the 1400s. Frederick had found spring flowers that fit into the light red color of his sister's hair quite well and had promptly braided them into a flower crown and set it onto the head of the little child, crowning her the queen of that tree.

Now Frederick was entertaining Isabell with stories he had to tell.

"I have forgot to tell you one story. I had been to the market with father last month and he had given me money to wander through the market. I have been looking for a gift to you at the jewelers shop, when I saw a father with his son steering into my direction, they seemed like noblemen. I have let them in front of me, as the good boy I am."

This lured a child's golden giggle out of the throat of the four year old girl. Frederick grinned proud.

"As I was telling you, I have let them in front of me and the father browses through the jewelry. He ended up buying a quite pretty necklace for a price that would cost us our cow Bettie. The boy seemed my age. He actually talked to me, but I forgot to ask his name. His father had not been as gentle.

As they walked away, I picked a really pretty necklace for you and payed, without money to spend or patience to endure the market, I returned to father who had been talking with the same man from earlier. What a weird coincidence, am i correct?" The small schottish boy asked as he sat down next to his sister.

He also had a flower crown on his golden locks, since Isabell had pressured him to make himself also one of the daisies that littered the large farm property and who was he to deny his wonderful baby sister this one wish?

"Hilda was teaching me how to make butter. But I already knew! I have tried to tell her, but she didn't want to listen!" The small girl complained about the maid they had since they were living on the farm.

There had been one instance where Isabell had accidentally called her "mama".

"That was certainly inconsiderate of her, truly" the older one of them agreed.

Suddenly, Isabell climbed onto the lap of her older brother while she giggled.

Frederick began to giggle too as he pulled his sister closer and leaned against the strong centuries-old tree.

They settled down and soon, the only thing they heard were birds songs, the sounds of their father working on the field and the scraping accompanied with the procedure of making bread.

When their father went to fetch them for dinner, the only thing he saw were his two children, Isabell perched atop Frederick, under the tree, white flowers woven into a crown adorning their hair, sleeping soundly.

[lady-byleth]

So Israel, in its absolutely ludicrous arrogance, has now managed to:

Get Pakistan and Iran, who attack each other, to somehow...burying the hatchet cuz FUCK ISRAEL I guess??

Piss off the Houthis

Bring in the West and piss off the whole of Yemen MORE

Piss off the Yemeni so much the various government parties and civilians ALSO bury the hatchet cuz FUCK ISRAEL

Bomb Libanon

Piss off Hezbollah

Get Hezbollah chomping at the bit for any excuse to reenact 2006 because FUCK ISRAEL

Teach the world through research into Hezbollah that Israel LOVES the human shields excuse (its your choice to kill them anyway, habibi)

Bomb Syria

Bring in the Iraqi resistance that promptly attacks Haifa and disables the airport because FUCK ISRAEL

Piss off the Saudis who block the airspace to anyone trying to deliver weaponry

Piss off every goddamn civilian in the area because FUCK ISRAEL is apparently a very common sentiment

Give Hamas TONS of good press through dozens of easily seen through lies

Raise support for Palestine MORE through said lies

Turn the whole civilian world against them

Fuck up their own economy

Divide the Jewish into two distinct factions like never before

Expose the corruption and depravity in the world governments for all to see

Make people aware of media bias against Arabic and North African people

Put Islam into a favorable light for the first time in decades because the world actually learns about it now despite Hollywood's best efforts

Improve everyone's legal knowledge cuz we're all following the court proceedings

Improve everyone's understanding of how to get reliable information and spot propaganda

Educate the world about Apartheid

Educate the world about Nelson Mandela specifically

Boost Palestinian solidarity AGAIN because even Nelson Mandela said FUCK ISRAEL

Make FUCK ISRAEL the most common stance on them

Improve understanding of Antisemitism through constantly using it as a defense and annoying people into not being antisemitic in the first place (from what I've seen anyway)

Humiliate Germany on a global level (which I am quite pleased with as a German)

Unite and mobilise people like never before

And all that by being so fucking shitty at military, human rights and PR that no one can deny it unless they're literally doing it on purpose

I don't remember the world ever agreeing so wholeheartedly on something as they agree on FUCK ISRAEL and, more importantly,

From the River to the Sea Palestine will be Free

[everlastinghistory]

The alarming path of the Canadian school system:

Over the course of the three and a (little over) half years I have spent in high school I’ve noticed quite a few alarming changes. This post covers most of them.

If you require a trigger warning for opinions that aren’t far left: This is your only warning. Don’t try to debate me. I’m not debating anyone. I’m stating my opinions. I will block you if you try to argue with me. I do not have the time to argue with people on Tumblr about common sense.

Grade 10 Canadian History

The first thing I want to talk about is what inspired this post. I once knew a guy who took Canadian History Since World War One and got a 95 in the class but did not know what the Holocaust or Nazi’s were. He was 16 when we had this conversation. And got a 95 in a class where an entire unit was about World War Two. The one thing he did remember? Japanese internment.

By sticking the word “Canadian” at the start of the course name they have created a course where you can learn about World War Two and never hear a single mention of the Holocaust or Nazi’s. Or even anything outside of Canada for that matter. Even stranger is they additionally failed to mention that the Japanese were not the only people in internment camps. Cause y’know it’s apparently not relevant that German’s, Italian’s, Jewish refugees and very strangely Mennonite’s were also put in them… And I don’t just mean German and Italian POW’s. I mean citizens of Canada who happened to have ancestry from either country.

Why is there only education about it happening to the Japanese? Why don’t we talk about the German’s and Italian’s also imprisoned for no reason? Suddenly considered a national security threat because their ancestors lived in a country they’d in many cases never even stepped foot in… Or the Jewish refugees who got put in the same camps as German POW’s and it took a rather long time for them to be moved to their own camp to protect them from the violence they faced when put with the German’s.

We only learn about the Japanese interment and honestly I think it’s because they’re the “most important” group according to so called egalitarians. The German’s and Italian’s were European so “they can’t be oppressed” and when in history have you seen Jewish people get treated properly? They’re easy to let fall under the radar because when you think of Jewish people in World War Two nobody thinks of Canada.

Grade 12 English

My grade 12 English teacher started off the class by giving us a speech about racism. This was not the “black voices” English class available for grade 12 students. This was a regular English class. Which additionally I think dedicating an entire class to talking about a race is more racist than not but whatever floats their boat I guess. Anyway, the first day he went on a speech about racism. About how black mothers and their kids show love to each other differently. About how abusing your kids is okay if your black because “it’s in our culture”. THE FIRST DAY. Not even into the class with some form of context to make it make sense. That was how he started the class and introduced us to himself.

Additionally, when we talked about the feminist lens in literature we got told being nurturing is a negative thing. Not that it’s not okay to assume all women are made to be nurturers. That being nurturing is a bad thing.

This same teacher also spent the entire semester making fun of housewives. Consistently saying they’re lazy and taking the easy way out.

This man was 31. He’s on the lower end of teachers ages. This is what the new generation of teachers is going to be like and that terrifies me for my future kids if I ever have kids. Especially since many countries have made homeschooling illegal specifically so they can teach your kids how they want them to view the world. While it is legal in Canada (where I live now, obviously) I do intend to move somewhere it’s illegal eventually and that’s genuinely very concerning to see.

Grade 12 World History

My grade 12 World History teacher gave us an entire lesson about how the existence of world maps is racist.

“Why?” You may be wondering.

Because “Europe is bigger than the other continents to show superiority.”

May I now present to you… A map of the world. In which it is clear both the Northern and Southern hemispheres well beyond Europe are larger. Because the Earth is a sphere. And that is how you map out a sphere.

In fact I even think it’s arguable to say Europe looks kind of tiny on here aside from Russia. Which Russia is literally the biggest country in the world so it’s not shocking that they’re noticeable. Unless the problem with these maps is that they’re accurate to the world and it being a sphere?

Additionally, I was curious where my history teacher got nonsense like this. So I googled it. There is no mainstream sources saying this. It is all obscure websites online. Websites a history teacher should never touch when planning a lesson.

Also it was literally a question on the exam. Here’s some proof if you don’t believe me:

There was also multiple times she said white people should be sorry for existing. Please note now that this teacher herself is white. She’s genuinely been convinced her own existence is problematic.

She also once spent an entire class trying to convince us race doesn’t exist and humans made it up. I don’t even know where she got that one from but it uh… It does. You can argue that in most cases “race” refers to species but we all understand that in this context it doesn’t and she knew it didn’t. She genuinely tried to convince us different skin colours don’t exist and there’s no physical difference between different races. Which while it’s not inherently true that races have physical factors beyond skin colour ethnicity does. And more often than not someone’s race and ethnicity correlate and you can guess one based on the other to some extent even if it’s only narrowed down to a continent. Don’t nitpick with what words mean. We all know we use these words interchangeably and that they are interchangeable in real conversation even if they aren’t by their definition.

Another thing: We had an entire lesson on how the existence of European history is inherently wrong. Essentially getting told Europe should not exist. She completely glossed over the fact that every continent has had countries invade others. In fact when she did talk about other continents countries invading places she gave us a whole sob story about why it was okay that those people k*ll3d people but oh no it’s oh so different when a European country did it.

The biggest thing was when she completely skipped over the entire First World War because “it’s European”. A) WORLD war. B) ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS IN HISTORY. But no you can’t teach that because it involves Europeans.

I also once got told to write an assignment about how to create a society where everyone in it is far left politically. I had to ask someone how to reword “show the children propaganda” in order to complete that assignment because that is genuinely the only way to create a society like that. Even the person I was explaining it to said it was insane. Because it was literally an assignment to write about how to create a dictatorship where we weren’t allowed to make it sound like that was what it was or we’d get in trouble for not agreeing with what we were being told to believe.

Morning Announcements

I don’t know if America does this but Canadian schools replaced the pledge to the flag with the land acknowledgment.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not denying that this land belongs to native people. No what I’m saying is that I don’t think they want to be reminded every single morning with a 5 minute speech about how their land was stolen.

Personally I’m more of a European’s moving back to Europe person. I don’t have anything against the indigenous peoples of North America. I want to leave specifically because this is not my land.

However, taking out the pledge to remind people their land was stolen feels more disrespectful than just saying the pledge and respecting the country??

People can argue that the flag has been used to disrespect indigenous people but the Canadian flag used by those types of people is the red ensign flag. They do not use the maple leaf flag to spread hate. They use the red ensign flag. Or they just walk into the capital with Nazi flags because that happened in 2022. Yet somehow there was more silence surrounding actual Nazi flags than our national flag. More people in this country hate our national flag than actual Nazi flags. You objectively have your priorities beyond fucked up if you think that way.

Why Is This Alarming

So, why do I find this so alarming?

Because it’s pushing the idea that we as a nation need to have one collective opinion and world view. Doesn’t that sound reminiscent of something?

…Maybe oh I dunno…

The beginning of a dictatorship?

Dictatorships start with propaganda in schools. What exactly does this all sound like? Propaganda in schools. Historically we hear about dictatorships and think of fascism. Fascists are not the only people capable of dictatorship. Left wing dictatorship is more than possible and is not a positive thing for anyone no matter what their opinions are.

By no means am I calling Canada a dictatorship. It’s not. I am incredibly grateful for the rights and freedoms this country gives me and I hate when American’s try to make it sound like a dictatorship. But this is objectively a very alarming path that Canadian schools have been taking and I do feel it’s necessary to address this.

This is the type of issue that people will hate anyone who calls it out right now but some day people will ask why nobody did anything about it.

Let me remind you of one thing: Nothing in history has happened overnight. It’s always been built over time. It’s always “oh just one tiny thing” “oh one more tiny thing” until it’s not one tiny thing. It’s a bunch of tiny things stacked up in a trench coat except the trench coat is made of tiny things.

I know to many people all these things sound good. But you need to realize they’re not. They’re harming this country far more than they will ever benefit it.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alice Herman at The Guardian:

By 9am on Monday, hundreds of worshipers who had gathered under a tent in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, were already on their feet. Praiseful music bumped from enormous speakers. The temperature was pushing 90F (32C). The congregants had gathered in north-western Wisconsin for the Courage Tour, a travelling tent revival featuring a lineup of charismatic preachers and self-styled prophets promising healing, and delivering a political message: register to vote. Watch, or work, the polls. And help deliver the 2024 election to Donald Trump. Serving as a voter registration drive and hub for recruiting poll workers, it was no mistake that the Courage Tour came to Wisconsin just three months ahead of the presidential election in November. The tour had already visited three other swing states: Georgia, Michigan and Arizona. Heavy-hitting Maga organizations – including America First Policy Institute, TPUSA Faith and America First Works – had a presence outside the tent. Inside, headlining the event was Lance Wallnau, a prominent figure in the New Apostolic Reformation – a movement on the right that embraces modern-day apostles, aims to establish Christian dominion over society and politics and has grown in influence since Trump was elected president in 2016.

“‘Pray for your rulers,’ that’s about as far as we got in the Bible,” said Wallnau, setting the tone for the day, which would feature a series of sermons focused on the ideal role of Christians in government and society. “I think what’s happened is over time, we began to realize you cannot trust that government like you thought you could trust, and you can’t trust the media to tell you what’s really happening,” he exclaimed. What followed in Wallnau’s morning sermon were a series of greatest hits of the Maga right: January 6 (not an insurrection), the 2020 election (marred by fraud) and Covid-19 (a Chinese bioweapon). Many of the attendees had learned of the event from Eau Claire’s Oasis church – a Pentecostal church whose congregants were already familiar with the movement’s goal to turn believers into activists with a religious mission. “This is wonderful,” said Cyndi Lund, an Oasis churchgoer who attended the four-day event. “I teach a class on biblical citizenship – the Lord put in my heart that we have to be voting biblically, and if nothing else, we have a duty in America to vote.”

According to the preachers who sermonized on Monday, the correct biblical worldview is a deeply conservative one. The speakers repeatedly stated their opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion, ideas that were elaborated on in pamphlets passed around the crowd and on three large screens facing the audience. (“Tolerance IS NOT A commandment,” read one poster, propped up in front of the pro-Trump Turning Point USA stall outside the tent.) After Wallnau spoke, Bill Federer, an evangelist who has written more than thirty books weighing in on US history from an anti-communist and rightwing perspective, offered a brief and often intensely inaccurate, intellectual history of the US and Europe. During his talk, Federer dropped references to the villains of his historiography – among them Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, the German philosopher Hegel and, “a little closer to home”, the political theorist of the New Left, Saul Alinsky. The crowd, apparently already versed in Federer’s intellectual universe, groaned and booed when Federer mentioned Alinsky.

The Courage Tour led by Christian Nationalists and 7MD advocates Lance Wallnau and Mario Murillo serve one purpose: to elect Donald Trump and other Republicans into office.

[nikofortuna]

JTTW Chapter 8 Thoughts

Chapter Eight for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group! There’s a lot going on in this one as we meet most of the pilgrims and get their brief backstories. CW: There's a picture of cicadas under the cut.

The imagery near the start of flowers raining down as Buddha holds a lecture reminded me of this scene in a Cultivation Manhua I’m reading, where basically that happens as well.

Something I would like to mention upfront is this Manhua having some glaring problems, most apparently and arguably most outrageously the depiction of native people. Also some homophobic comments, but those are much less prevalent. So if you are interesting in reading it, keep that in mind.

Back to the chapter at hand, I’m honestly starting to get kind of annoyed by how often people belittle themselves. “Untutored/stupid”, “untalented” please get a grip all of you and stop selling yourselves short even as a formality or whatnot. Something like this can get internalized so fast if one is not careful that it should not be a constant formality anyway.

On a more enjoyable side note the “brows of new moon shape” is a traditional eyebrow make up style! And “ruddy lips” or in the J.F. Jenner translation “scarlet lips”, were quite the popular colour in the Tang Dynasty as well.

Our scripture pilgrim gets literal plot armour! It’s quite funny and also interesting to see this be an actual point in the narrative.

Also first mention of Golden Cicada! Aside from where the name comes from, I genuinely wonder if he personally likes cicadas. There certainly are plenty of pretty ones out there! I mean look at them!

Though how casual Buddha is about basically using torture to convert people… that’s just not a good look for anyone. Plus how nonchalant he goes like yeah, the scripture pilgrim is going to suffer, but hey he’ll like it! Does make you squint.

Moving on the Flowing Sand River in real world geography is actually made of sand! It is located at the western end of the Gobi desert. To be precise “Weak Water” refers to the it being quicksand. Courtesy of the German translation for this little fun fact!

So knowing this, Sha Wujing’s depiction in Xi Xing Ji/The Westward as well as the Flowing Sands River there being in an actual desert works really well with this. Aside from being incredibly cool in concept and execution of course.

During the fight I imagine Guanyin just watching from the shore with the Ancient Chinese equivalent of popcorn.

Also once again, the colour mentioned is not simply green! Nor blue. But rather verdant [青 Qīng].

Knowing they already sent for a few scripture pilgrims it is no wonder that Buddha asked Guanyin to survey the route this time and make sure it’s actually doable. That is probably also the reason he is giving the scripture pilgrim plot armour this time around.

Though Sha Wujing actually playing with the skulls is kind of cute to me. Maybe he’s even fidgeting with them instead of simply playing. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me given how much stress he must be under due to that weekly stabbing.

Ao Lie being punished like this for an accident. It was an accident for crying out loud! Discipline him a little if you must and teach him to be more cautious especially when doing anything with fire. But don’t just execute him! Ao Run is definitely not getting father of the year that much is certain.

Speaking of them, Sha Wujing’s punishment isn’t much better either. Accidents happen. Particularly the recurring stabbing is way over the top, that’s just too much.

Though Zhu Wuneng’s punishment I can actually agree with for a change. I mean flirting with Chang'e who’s whole ordeal is being faithful to her husband? That is just plain stupid and if you can’t control yourself while drinking, don’t drink. There really is no excuse here.

In all fairness after the whole Havoc in Heaven everyone was probably pretty on edge and the Jade Emperor ruled more strictly because of it at least for a while. But on the other hand if he would be so worried about a coup or something, ruling like that would lead to the exact opposite of what he intends.

Why would one commit a coup? If they are unhappy with the one who rules currently. So just make your people happy and rule with fairness and kindness and you should be fine. The Jade Emperor hasn’t been kind to Sun Wukong, which is what ticked him off to begin with.

Coming up on the Five Phases Mountain, Guanyin casually composing a poem is such a mood. When you are inspired, you just have to get it out.

However you cannot tell me she didn’t give the other two matching names with Sun Wukong on purpose.

Guanyin not giving the monkey essentially a headpat when she did the others though. Very sad, especially since Sun Wukong probably needed a little affection.

Flower Language Fun Fact! Don’t gift someone duckweed. As duckweed has no roots, in Chinese flower language it goes against the values of family and unity.

Also note the wisteria! We’ll see it again soon, and when that time comes I’ll explain what it means. For now all I’ll say is that it’s not an arbitrary flower.